This design combines the efforts of the V. Ahlen design office with the Sirius Design Team. The overall design is highly unusual and I’m not sure I have ever seen so many features combined in a boat this size. Keep in mind that these boats are semicustom, so the layout and finish details are up to the owner working with the yard’s design team. I have drawings for six layouts, but the company built 14 different layouts on its previous 31-foot model. I think we can expect a lot more variations on the new 40.

The Oceanis 60 is the flagship of the Beneteau fleet, designed by Berret Racoupeau with help on the interior by Nauta Design. This is a very good-looking boat in the European modern style punctuated by a mainsheet arch over the cockpit.

Most of us have looked across the harbor at an incoming boat at some time and said, "Yup, must be Hinckley." The signs were hard to mistake. There were beautifully sculpted teak toerails and magnificent, big stainless steel bow fittings lapping down the stem. And there was the hull defined by graceful overhangs that gave the boat an ageless beauty, what I think of as the epitome of the American yacht. 

Alain Mortain and Yannis Mavrikos designed this new 44- foot model, produced by Privilege Marine, and I liked this design the moment I saw it. I find all the proportions pleasing to my eye. The aim of the design is a fast cruising boat with a nice balance of speed and comfort. 

I  live in the Pacific Northwest, and do everything in the rain, and  it does not bother me. The sun bothers me. When I saw this  new design from my buddy Paul Waring and his partner Robert  Stephens I thought, "Perfect! I can get out of the sun." 

One of the fun things about reviewing a Mark Mills design is that I get to Skype Mark and chat with him for an hour. Mark was not shy about explaining the details of his latest work to me. In this case, it's his exciting new 38-foot 9-inch IRC racer now being built in Turkey at the Gurit yard.

My Danish friend Tom came up with the "bloated tennis shoe" description for some kinds of yacht styling. He recently described a boat to me as looking like "the box the boat came in." 

It’s nice to get real designer drawings from Kevin Dibley. The drawings are expertly produced and a clear sign that Kevin loves his work. Kevin calls this sailboat a performance voyager. 

I have been a fan of the Rustler series for years. They are so English. The company’s style is in contrast to what my buddy Tom calls the “Euro bloated tennis shoe” look. 

The most fun reviews I do are of the boats I would like to own myself. I sure like this catboat. It would be the perfect boat for me to introduce my grandchildren to sailing. 

This great looking boat is a Judel/Vrolijk design built by Dehler Yachts. The vertical stem and transom give the boat a very strong look. Of course we see this in almost all the new boats but with 46

 The Beneteau Oceanis 35 designed by Finot-Conq appears to be a very versatile design aimed at hitting a wide segment of the market. There is a daysailer model, a weekender model and a cruiser mo

This new model from Bavaria was designed by the Farr office in partnership with Design Unlimited. I’m not exactly sure who designed what but I think it’s safe to assume that the hull, appendages a

Judel/Vrolijk is the design name behind this new Varianta model, built as an entry boat for the Hanse line. It’s a clean-looking boat with modest styling, and it is a little more conventional lookin

This new Elan model was designed by Rob Humphreys in the UK with an interior design by Gigo Design. I’ve been a Humphreys fan for many years. His designs always appeal to my eye, and he has a very g

I like the look of this new Marlow-Hunter. To my eye, the look combines European-styling elements with U.S.-style proportions. I find it a good look and well done considering the volume they were

In my perfect world it’s always 9:30 Sunday morning, about 65 degrees and a little sunny. I am finishing washing my big, dark Mercedes, while listening to Bach’s “Matthew Passion” on CBC2’s

Here’s a boat designed by my old friend Mark Mills that has a lot of people talking. The first boat is sailing and so far there have been big smiles all around. This new boat enters a tough niche in